Executive Wilderness Programmes

Management Training Programmes
EWP has teamed up with two highly experienced coaches to provide a unique management training programme set in a total wilderness environment designed to explore and develop, uncharted areas of the world and mind.

Executive Leadership Development Programme 2007  details
This is a four phase leadership development programme the core of which is a 16 day expedition to a remote area of Central Asia with the aim of conquering an unclimbed summit. The programme is targeted towards:

• Middle and Senior management with a genuine interest in further developing their leadership skills.
• Members of High-Potential, Fast-Track and Talent Pools as part of their portfolio of development opportunities.
• More established executives who are seeking to refresh their knowledge and further develop their leadership skills in a testing environment.
• Ideally suited as a reward for outstanding contributions to the business.
• For key players whose retention is critically important to the business.

He specialises in leadership, teamwork and personal development coaching, his expertise is based upon years of practical experience in these fields. He has mentored youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds in their battle to cope with the pressures of teenage years, and during five exciting years with the Metropolitan Police Firearms Dept coached and supported experienced firearms officers through dangerous and dynamic operations in London.

Whilst in charge of the Metropolitan Police Adventure Training Centre in North Wales he introduced a culture of self-improvement for staff and students alike. He designed, planned and supervised courses in Leadership and personal development. Though the courses were originally set up for Cadet training, he introduced the concept of training for Senior Managers and Public Order Teams, using the outdoors as a medium, and opened the centre to community and volunteer groups.

He has successfully represented Great Britain as a Quadrathlete, an extreme endurance event, claiming bronze medal in his age group in the world championships for three consecutive years, from 1997 – 1999.

In 2004 he rowed a small boat across the Atlantic Ocean and previously has led teams to success on mountains in South America and Africa, he has also claimed a first British ascent in The Himalayas.

He is a highly experienced police trainer and facilitator and has delivered courses concerning management and leadership skills in the UK and abroad.

Having recently thrown away his DIY tools, he concentrates upon refining his strategy concerning 'Stick it on your head', and bar-diving style, at which he is undisputed world champion!

A founder of First Ascent, John has spent his life studying and developing leaders.  He is also a notable leader himself.  In a former life as a senior police officer in London, he honed his skills on the anvil of life whilst leading his officers into action in dealing with riots and unrest in a volatile London. His leadership was tested fully when failure was not an option and lives were at stake.

His sensitivity and political awareness, when holding the role of Divisional Commander of one of the busiest police stations in one of the most dangerous areas in London, enabled him to negotiate peace, calm and order in a community which was tearing itself apart. These skills have taught him how to find ways through seemingly intractable human resistance. 

In his personal life, he has relentlessly taken on challenges in leading teams to remote parts of the world on a wide variety of expeditions – including first British ascents of peaks in the Himalayas. Over the past 12 months he has rowed across the Atlantic and run across the Sahara desert.  He is about to coach several teams who will race on foot to the North Pole.

John has designed, promoted and delivered Leadership and Team Development programmes to a wide range of managers from private and public sector organisations in the UK, the USA and world-wide.

John has an M.Phil. in Leadership & Organisational Behaviour and is a Fellow of the Institute of Personal Development. He was trained in Consultancy by the Tavistock Institute and is a qualified Oxford, Cambridge and RSA accredited Executive Coach.

He is an energetic person who knows how to motivate others to give of their best. He is comfortable working in the Boardroom as well as coaching top class performers in the field.

John is licensed to deliver M.B.T.I., FIRO.B, Insights Evaluator, Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (A.S.E.), Occupational Stress Indicator (A.S.E.), Team Climate Inventory (A.S.E.), Strategic Alignment Instrument (O.P.P.), Strength Deployment Inventory (Personal Strengths Publishing), F.A.C. 360 degree Leadership Questionnaire, PIN-POINT-Finding People That Work (A.S.E.).

Over the last twenty years he has been running EWP, a mountain guiding company specialising in, amongst other areas, East Africa and the former Soviet Union. He speaks several languages including Russian fluently, which he perfected over the many years he has been guiding in Russia and Central Asia. He has also used his knowledge to publish several climbing guidebooks and maps of mountain areas.

Throughout his mountaineering career he has been involved in numerous first ascents on rock snow and ice, many of these being on virgin summits in the Himalaya, Pamir and Tien Shan. Over the last 12 years he has organised and led 11 Virgin Summit expeditions to Central Asia. In the past he has trained a Mountain Rescue team in Scotland and was a member of the Mount Kenya rescue team. He is a firm believer in developing people's self-confidence and performance through challenging activities.

Hobbies include swimming, chess, cartography and photography.